Hong Kong police arrest 38 over HK$285 million worth of fraudulent loans sought under government-backed pandemic relief scheme
- The force’s commercial crime bureau says two syndicates had set up 53 shell companies and submitted false documents to banks
- 22 men and 16 women, aged between 27 and 74, were arrested for conspiracy to defraud
Hong Kong police have broken up two syndicates and arrested 38 people after they sought HK$285 million (US$36.5 million) in fraudulent bank loans under a government-backed pandemic relief scheme.
The force’s commercial crime bureau said on Friday that the syndicates had set up 53 shell companies, claiming to be engaging in wholesale, trade and manufacturing activities but with no genuine business.
They had submitted falsified documents to banks detailing operational costs, staff salaries and MPF contributions to support 80 loan applications to several banks between March 2020 and last month, attempting to acquire HK$285 million.
The banks eventually granted government-guaranteed loans totalling HK$185 million but the money was ultimately withdrawn in cash or transferred to the personal accounts of the syndicate masterminds, not to the firms themselves.
“The first syndicate provided false bank statements, false MPF records as a proof of their business to deceive the banks that they have genuine business and that their business volume was affected in the cause of the pandemic,” senior inspector Law Yik-pan said.
“The second syndicate also used false MPF records. [Some] companies just made a one-month contribution to the MPF to pretend that the company was in operation.”
